Emotional Warfare
by freckledemerald
Summary: Tales from the Resistance. The little moments between the war on the inside and outside. From start to finish and base to battlefield, in no particular order. One-shots surrounding Sonic Forces.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hi friends! This is going to be an ongoing piece (like Pink, _which I'm still working on btw just having a bit of writer's block_ ) that I've been dying to work on for such a long time. I'm Forces trash, but I'm also the biggest fan of side stories and character interactions so I'm excited to explore with these characters! So I hope you enjoy, these won't be in order because they come to me randomly so bare with me. Thanks for coming along on another ride with me!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any characters affiliated, they belong to SEGA.**

* * *

 **01**

It was dimly lit and there wasn't much room for lounging around casually, but it was the one rare source of comfort they found in this new dystopian world they had found themselves in, so they considered it home. The Resistance Headquarters were nothing more than a couple of bunkers beneath the ground, housing those who rebelled against Dr. Eggman and his robot empire. It was also the current location of Mobius' greatest heroes, who at the moment, were trying to come up with yet another plan that could either blow up in their face or find a real strategy that could possibly work. And more importantly…save them all.

Speaking to a room full of allies and friends, Silver the Hedgehog led a battle walkthrough while using a raggedy map as his support; one that had clearly seen better days. "If we cut around this perimeter, we can avoid bots on the north and east side of the factory then we can clear the area and sneak our way inside."

Amy Rose shared a glance with Knuckles, the pair being the other two leading powerhouses of the Resistance, and he shrugged his shoulders. She let out a small snicker as his attention left hers and returned back to Silver, raising his hand with a sudden anxiousness causing the girl to raise an eyebrow at his actions.

"How many people are we going to need for this mission?" The red echidna asked, thinking ahead about any necessary precautions and preparations they would have to make if this plan was set into motion.

Silver nodded at him, then let out a small- _almost hesitant_ breath before answering. "Well…that's what I was hoping we could figure out together. Because right now we're looking like twenty-five."

The room went quiet almost instantly, but the air was obviously thick with uncertainty and fear. Amy, feeling the mood change so suddenly, cleared her throat and made an announcement to the wide-eyed resistance members.

"That's it for now! Meeting adjourned. We'll call you all back when we have updates and a plan. Thank you everyone. For now, remain sharp and stay safe."

As the group of Mobians filed out, the three that were left behind in the conference room sat silently at the makeshift table to discuss whatever options they had. After waiting until they were alone, the pink hedgehog rubbed her forehead with a gloved hand and broke the silence by releasing the sigh she had been holding in. She looked from Knuckles to Silver with a deadpan expression.

"Twenty-five?"

The latter's eyes closed for a moment in concentration before opening once more to make direct eye contact with her warily.

"I didn't mean to scare anybody, Amy. But with Infinite growing stronger and Sonic nowhere in sight, our defense _and_ offense have to be the very best it can be. We can't afford any mistakes or miscalculations."

She froze at the mention of the blue hedgehog but before she could even say anything on the matter, Knuckles swooped in to avoid the subject of him completely.

"Alright. So although twenty-five is a big chunk of our fighters and this may or may not lead to our downfall…I trust you on this. But give me the pros and cons- nah just the pros. How are we gonna make this work?" The violet-eyed fighter asked while smirking at the golden-eyed hedgehog who reciprocated the smile softly.

"As long as we split into uneven teams of two with you and I leading- it should all work out _according to plan_. We still have our abilities…at least that's something this war couldn't take away from us, and if we make it quick and remain smart we'll be alright. Amy, you're good with no battlefield stuff this time, right? We need you on communications in case any signs of Tails or Sonic show up."

The pink hedgehog nodded her head at the telekinetic male and watched as he came to an agreement with Knuckles and watched them shake hands. She continued to observe as they stood up to leave together until Silver ran off to the other side of the room to grab some supplies, then felt a giant mitt rest on her shoulder.

He stared at her with puzzled concern for a second before snapping out of it and giving her a quick squeeze. "You sure you're gonna be alright, kiddo?"

She looked up at him and let out a dry laugh. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about the two of you and the rookies you're planning on taking out. Please be careful, watch over them. Watch over _each other_. And remember if you happen to see him out there-"

"-I know. Bring him home."

She felt her eyes begin to form tears, but she wiped them away quickly before allowing herself to expose a moment of weakness. This was something she had been working so hard to contain since the war had begun and she was just barely starting to make progress. She couldn't let herself go now. She watched as the hedgehog and echidna pair walked out of the room talking about the plans for their upcoming raid, and was left with a sinking feeling in her gut. There was something too simple and too perfect about Silver's plan that she couldn't quite put her finger on just yet, but she was still worried sick. At the end of the day…she had to trust her team. The only way they were going to get their freedom back was by fighting back. But at what cost?

The girl's green eyes scanned over all the random items thrown around the cold dusty room until they settled on a photograph hidden in the corner behind some old books and maps. She got up and walked over to examine it closer and saw that it was a little faded with a sepia tint, and the glass from the frame had cracked in several places…but to her it was all still so perfect. She picked it up gingerly and held it close to heart. She let a single tear fall, only for that moment while she was completely alone, and closed her eyes.

"Oh Sonic…where are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Long time no see friends, sorry for my unexpected delay. I had a massive case of writer's block and no motivation, but when this came to me I was immediately proud of it. I always wished they expanded more on the topic of Rouge being Knuckles' spy finding out about Sonic, so this my personal take on it. Please enjoy. Thank you for reviewing, for reading, and for just being you. 

* * *

**02**

Grand Metropolis used to be a city full of hustle and bustle before the takeover, so seeing it barren and almost _sickly_ was weird- to say the least. Sneaking around skyscrapers and buildings was an easy task, but the eerie quietness in the air was alarming. The fact that there were almost no metal-headed minions in sight is what worried her the most. Her main objective was to infiltrate and investigate a "hidden" base located in the center of the city that had hopefully already been abandoned. But the keyword being: _hopefully_.

Rouge snuck around a corner and arrived across from the location her coordinates had led her to. She scanned the surrounding area with her aqua blue eyes, before determining that it was safe enough to cross the street; allowing herself a full minute to be exposed completely. She sprinted to the building, being careful not to crunch the already spilled glass around the perimeter and snuck under a hole through the fence, then reached the entrance and let out a small sigh of relief. She brought up the watch on her wrist to her mouth and called the others for a check in.

"This is Rouge, checking in. Phase one is complete, heading on to phase two now."

As she began to make her way inside the building, she heard the faint crackle of the walkie-watch responding to her and held it up to her ear.

"This is Knuckles, we appreciate the response. Will be on the line if you need us."

She snickered lightly, of course it was that dumb echidna. He could deny it all he wanted, but she knew at the end of any day… he would always have her back.

"My favorite Knucklehead. Wish you were here with me. Smooches!"

She could just see him fuming and blushing profusely on the other end and it made her giddy. I mean he was the one who sent her on this mission in the first place, couldn't she have a little fun with him? The familiar static sounded again making the girl stop in her tracks.

"Knock it off batgirl. Remember basement level first, and be careful. Get outta there if something doesn't feel right."

She smiled softly at their banter, then shook it off remembering why she was actually here. She looked for a way down to the basement level, where Dr. Eggman's main lab had been before he abandoned the entire place- and almost jumped with excitement finding a rusting, yet functional, spiral staircase leading down.

The basement was dim and smelled like copper, and she didn't like that. However, she took a glance at the broken glass, various robot parts sprawled around the room, and the plethora of scattered paperwork and sheets that lay all around the floor and counters of the lab. She was here to find evidence hopefully exposing where the doctor was camping out now or even regarding the whereabouts of Sonic and Tails. She just knew she couldn't get her hopes up. It had already been five months.

Hearing the clink of her heels to the tiled floor was almost unsettling, considering how quiet it actually was, and she felt a tiny chill run up and down her spine because of it. There was the tiniest hum of machinery that made her pause and wonder if this site was truly abandoned, until shaking it off and convincing herself there was no way anything in this junkyard of a place could still be working. She passed by what seemed to be an incomplete roboticization chamber and it instantly made her sick to her stomach, so she turned away quickly but caught a familiar name on one of the papers sprawled on the floor in the process.

 **Sonic the Hedgehog.**

Her eyes widened as she slumped to the ground, grabbing on to the paper desperately and continued reading, trying to soak up the small sliver of hope she had been given. As she continued to carefully investigate the contents of the note, she realized it was almost like a diary entry of some sort.

" _Progress shows the hedgehog growing significantly weaker on a day to day basis. The Resistance has no idea where their hero is and I'd rather it stay that way until it's time to eliminate him once and for all. But for now it's fun to watch him squirm. Infinite's illusions grow stronger thanks to the Phantom Ruby, courtesy of me, and the pesky rodent is overwhelmed by his enemy's strength. The move to the new and improved Death Egg is still well into effect, and thus from there we can continue on with our plan. As for now, toodleloo! The continuation of world domination awaits!_

 _-Dr. Ivo Robotnik"_

The bat's eyes scanned over the note a couple more times before frantically trying to find something- _anything_ else left behind regarding future plans or Sonic's wellbeing but nothing remained. There were blueprints of old mechs and nuclear codes scattered about, but none of those gave her more information on her friend or anything the crazed doctor was set to do next. She had to stick with this vital piece of information and run with it. The girl brought her wrist up to her mouth, about to inform the others back at base, until her ear twitched at a sudden thump. She carefully tucked away the paper into a safe pocket and listened in for another noise.

She froze in place as the thump grew louder. One thump turned into three, then six, then she heard ten all at the same time and knew that was her cue to _get out of there_. The thumps were coming from the spot she had originally entered in from, so she had to think of another way out. Cursing to herself about being caught off guard, she almost felt true defeat by almost not being able to find an escape route. She prepared herself for the worst until she spotted a vent on the upper left-hand side of the room. She raced over, flying up into the tiny box-shaped hole and carefully slipped the lid back on behind her. She heard the door to the room she was in, burst open at that exact moment and felt her breath hitch.

She quieted in her spot for a good moment as she heard the Death Bots shuffle about and around down below her and dared not to move. Any single movement could get her caught. Her hands began to sweat and she just hoped someone from base wouldn't try and contact her at this given moment in time, one beep and she would be caught. She didn't know how long she had been so still for. Her muscles hurt and her breathing was shallow, but she finally saw them begin to file up and out after not finding what they were looking for. As soon as she heard the door slam behind them, the bat booked it through the crawlspace hastily and didn't stop until she reached an opening that led to an exit back into the city. As soon as stepped foot outside, Rouge sped away to a location far enough away from the "abandoned" base to update the others on her mission. She took a minute to catch her breath, then raised her communicator up to talk.

"Knuckles, can you hear me?"

She waited, looking around anxiously, until she heard his voice and it soothed her almost automatically. Even if the situation they were in proved there wasn't much to be calm about. She should be used to these sort of scenarios, she's a spy. But this war didn't spare anyone's feelings- including her own.

"It's about time! What's the status?"

She closed her eyes, thinking about what she would say- and _how_ she would say it. And finally gulped down the massive weight she felt in her throat.

"I have a lot to tell you. But I guess the most important being that Sonic is alive. I don't know where he is, but I know where he's going."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** As I went into a huge apology on Pink, I am also relaying that here. I am so sorry. If you are back to read my work, thank you so much. Like literally so much. I'm working on getting an ACTUAL laptop I can work from and upload, but for now please enjoy this piece. It's been in the drafts for a while. Also, please stay safe friends! Times are crazy right now. I hope the next update won't take me two years, but maybe two days or two weeks. See you soon!

* * *

 **03**

He couldn't keep track of his days anymore. He struggled, but he didn't show it. He was bruised and battered, but he couldn't give up, not when he knew people were still out there. _His_ people. He didn't know what was happening on the outside, all he knew was that there was still a fight going on. That's all that mattered.

The walls were dingy and it smelled like copper. The consistent tones of gray and black almost drove him mad. He tried to picture the faces of his loved ones that he hadn't seen in so long to sprinkle a splash of color to his mind. Knuckles, Tails…Amy. Red, yellow, pink…he needed their hues to brighten his dull blue. They were a constant to keep him going- but for a while he was almost convinced they had forgotten about him. Like as if they had almost given up on him, but he knew better. That's what the doctor would have wanted him to think. He needed to _believe_ in them, like they always believed in him. This time the roles were just reversed.

Every day was a typical routine. Wake up; usually accompanied by aches and pains, eat- if the doctor brought him food, get beat by Infinite or Metal or whatever was around, and repeat. He would either sleep or be knocked unconscious, neither were his choice. Sonic's ego and determination made it hard to give in to the malicious doctor's cruelty, but reaching the fifth month in captivity was when his confidence and strength began to dwindle. The illusions Infinite would cook up to fry his brain never really got to him before, but as of late they were beginning to take a toll because they weren't about him anymore. They were about _his friends_.

The jackal would smirk seeing Sonic twitch at the sight of someone close to him. The hedgehog was so close to insanity that all it really took was another familiar face to crush him. The first couple of times it had been random triggers. Old battles, pleasant memories, his favorite foods- things like that. But he decided to switch up his tactics a little bit and go for a more _personal_ approach. That seemed to do the trick.

The first real trial was Knuckles.

Seeing one of his closest friends got him excited- a feeling he hadn't truly felt in a while, but he knew some things were too good to be true. The blue hedgehog and red echidna had always had a friendly rivalry and played to each other's strengths. They knew what the other could handle, so when Sonic was forced into watching Knuckles lose a fight without being able to help, he was extremely skeptical. He _knew_ what Knux could handle, and it was more than this. It wasn't him. It wasn't real. He shook his head and mentally cursed to himself for allowing Infinite to get inside his head. This time was different and it was beginning to feel much more personal. And he didn't like that.

The second trial was Tails.

His best friend and his little brother. It came out of nowhere at a point where he could have very well decided to throw in the towel. He had been beaten and was beginning to spit up blood, but seeing the yellow two-tailed genius almost made him smile. He _almost_ just went for it. But then he remembered Knuckles and how fake that turned out to be and what it almost cost him- and he stopped himself.

Tails laughed happily as his namesake whisked behind him and it seemed like he had not a care in the world. "What's the matter, Sonic? Let's go home!"

The blue hedgehog paused and stared at the kitsune's outstretched glove. No, no, no. This isn't real. _But what if it was_? What if he could just reach out his hand and try to-

"Yeah blue rat, what's the matter? Don't you want to go home?"

That voice and the cackle that followed were the root of his problems and it made him grit his teeth in frustration. He slammed his fist against the floor and when he looked up he didn't see Tails, but instead Dr. Eggman smiling maniacally down at him. It was bait and he got caught.

The last trial was Amy.

He took it the hardest. He didn't know if it was because he felt like he was getting closer to the point of giving up completely, or because he genuinely knew that the harder he fought this the more danger they would be in. He was a hero, and if sacrificing himself meant everyone else would be safe he would lay down his life right now. But without that guarantee, for the first time in his life, Sonic the Hedgehog did not know what to do.

She looked ethereal. She was glowing and happy and her quills matched the cherry blossoms that would be in bloom at this time of year. It started off so nice. She was in a field twirling with a basket of flowers and he knew not to believe it. He had been fooled once, shame on them. Fooled again…shame on him. But of course, in the blink of an eye, the mood changed drastically. Fire rose around them as the smoke began to follow and trap them in. The smell of oil and machinery made his eyes water, and he couldn't help but cough as he felt the heat against his back. But then he saw her. She was helpless on the ground staring up at the thing that scared her the most. Her dress was torn and her face was covered in dirt and bruises, but to his horror he watched as Metal Sonic towered over her ready to strike. The blue hedgehog's green eyes widened in fear.

"AMY PLEASE GET YOUR HAMMER! METAL PLEASE NO! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

He tried to move, he desperately tried to do anything to help her, but he couldn't. He was petrified. All he could do was watch. She gave him a look with sadness in her eyes and smiled softly.

"Oh Sonic, where have you-"

"STOP! Please stop. Please stop. _Please_."

And it did, but the damage was done. The fastest thing alive held his head in his hands. His eyes felt heavy and his body couldn't stop rocking. For the life of him he couldn't get her image out of his head and he just wished it would stop. He _needed_ it to stop. They needed to be okay, but for the first time ever- _he was just too slow_.

Eggman smirked in the corner while taking quick notes of the exchange and gave Infinite a quiet nod. The blue hedgehog finally sat still, eyes bleak and void of any emotion. His arms wrapped around his knees as he stared into the abyss. He was breaking.

"That's a wrap for today. If he goes through another one, he won't have the energy to play tomorrow. And we simply cannot have that now can we?"


End file.
